COMMISSIONERS CONDEMN COMMUNITY TO FUTURE OF DIRTY COAL EXPORT

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, 11/23/10

 Contacts:

 Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, (503) 348-2436

David Graham-Caso, Sierra Club, (213) 387-6528 X214

K.C. Golden, Climate Solutions, (206) 963-1953

COMMISSIONERS CONDEMN COMMUNITY TO FUTURE OF  DIRTY COAL EXPORT

COWLITZ COUNTY APPROVES PERMIT FOR LONGVIEW COAL EXPORT FACILITY

Kelso, WA—The Cowlitz County Commission put its rubber stamp on a plan today that allows an Australia-based company to establish a coal export terminal in Longview, WA.

The commissioners, by a 3-0 vote, granted a permit to allow the coal exporting facility on waterfront land in Longview without a full analysis of its potentially significant effects on people and the environment. Approval of the permit was given despite a lack of fundamental scientific information.

 “As a local businessman I am disappointed by the commissioners' decision today,” said Stanley Florek, Chief Executive Officer of Tangerine Power. “I want to see Cowlitz County creating manufacturing jobs for 21st century industries, like clean energy, not exporting dirty resources.  Tying up our waterfront properties to ship coal to China is a step in the wrong direction, for our economy and our environment.”

Energy companies would use the terminal to send millions of tons of coal from Montana and Wyoming through the Columbia Gorge by train, then load it into ships bound for China.  Australia-based Ambre Energy would annually export five million tons of coal from a Longview port.

Local community groups, conservation organizations and citizens voiced their disagreement with the commission’s decision.  At the hearing last Tuesday, the Commission heard a chorus of opposition over the proposed massive coal export terminal.  Out of the 28 individuals testifying, 26 were against the project.

Today, health experts and members of the faith community reiterated their concerns about the impact of the coal export facility.

“Exporting coal out of Longview poses a triple threat to our public health,” said Dr. Dale A. Bowen of Ariel, WA.  “Coal dust has been linked to respiratory diseases. Mercury, released during coal combustion, is a potent neurotoxin. Coal’s contribution to global warming is substantial and puts our health at stake. Here in Washington, climate change means an increased spread of infectious diseases, potential scarcity of water for agriculture and drinking, and dangerous heat strokes. We urge the county commission and Governor Gregoire to protect public health and say no to coal in Washington."

"We are deeply upset with the commissioners' decision as this is a vote against human health,” said Cherie Eichholz, Executive Director of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. “The impacts of coal are well known and dangerous. Coal combustion releases mercury, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to the respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems. Moreover, the health implications of global warming are exponentially devastating. To protect our communities we must transition away from this dirty fossil fuel."

"My faith tells me that there is a better way to improve the lives of the children in my community than by selling their lungs to China on behalf of a foreign company,”said Mary Lyons of Longview, who is a member of Saint Stephen’s Church and Earth Ministry. “My Creator tells me to speak up for a better solution, one that helps all people rather than a project that benefits the very few, while destroying many others. The beautiful Columbia River is the finest asset of my region. Both the local and distant pollution caused by a coal export terminal are too important to my heart and to my faith to allow me to walk away silently."

Conservation groups criticized the decision, saying the proposal runs counter to the Northwest's longtime goals for cleaner energy, and hasn't had a thorough environmental analysis.

“The nation’s eyes are upon us.  It’s time for Governor Gregoire to step in and decide whether Washington becomes a leader for a clean energy future or a gateway for dirty coal to China,” said Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director of Columbia Riverkeeper.

“This is not our future. Our economic and environmental destiny is not to become a resource colony for Asian economies and an enabler for the reckless fossil fuel addiction that is destroying our kids' only planet,” said K.C. Golden, Policy Director of Climate Solutions. “Our future is to become a leader in the transition to a clean energy economy, and to reap the local economic and health rewards of that leadership. We can do better, and we will.”

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About Columbia Riverkeeper:  Columbia Riverkeeper's mission is to restore and protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.

About Earthjustice:  Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.

About the Sierra Club’s Coal Free Northwest Campaign:  The Sierra Club’s Coal Free Northwest Campaign is the regional effort in the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign- a national effort that aims to move our economy toward a clean energy future by stopping new polluting coal-fired plants, phasing out existing plants, and keeping U.S. coal reserves in the ground and out of international markets.  Thanks in part to the work of the Beyond Coal Campaign, plans for 139 new coal plants have been shelved since the beginning of the coal rush, keeping more than 570 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and encouraging America to follow the path to a new clean energy economy.   For more information about the Coal Free Northwest campaign, please visithttp://www.sierraclub.org/coal/wa/.

About Climate Solutions:  Climate Solutions mission is to accelerate practical and profitable solutions to global warming by galvanizing leadership, growing investment and bridging divides.

About Washington Environmental Council:  Washington Environmental Council drives positive change to address our state’s most critical environmental challenges. For more than 40 years, we’ve been pivotal to enacting our most important environmental protections. We do this by building and leading partnerships, mobilizing the public, engaging decision makers, and taking legal action to clean up our water, reduce climate pollution, and ensure healthy and livable communities.

About Earth Ministry:  Earth Ministry is a non-profit organization committed to engaging the Christian community in environmental stewardship. We work in partnership with individuals and congregations to respond to this great moral challenge through education, individual and congregational lifestyle choices, and organizing for social change through environmental advocacy.

While Earth Ministry is rooted in the Christian tradition, they actively engage all religious communities on climate and energy issues through Washington Interfaith Power & Light. Their programs and resources are in use across the US and Canada and available to all.